The Sun. — London, England, 1809-08-29 00:00:00

?'VdLCHEJ ; [The following are Extratis of I.ettcrs.l " FLUSHING,. AUG. situatioi, or the town of noshing, when pin infd the post,essioo of the .British `arms', mlßritish subjects were admitted to see it, was deplorably frightful. ScarCely a house had escaped damage, and nearly two-thirds of the whole were it, a state of smoking ruins; or though still standing, much shattered, and tottering to the foundation. The - dead bodies had, however, beet, removed, and consigned precipitately to their.graves. Great nUrobers of the inhabitants suffered, perhaps hot less in the whole than 500; and those who escaped etere chiefly - indebted for satety -to the shel ter or their cellars,. or where they had none, to the tom nuity of their neighbours' who bad. In one Case, that. of ail English family long resident in the town, tbe extensive vaults under their house were - thrown open to the inhabitants, without distil - it-fon of age or sex, of country or reliiziou ; and it is tifyiog to . add, that of above 300 persons. who took refuge th ere, not .one &offered injury, thotigh the house had been repeatedly perforated with cannon balls, rocketS, and bnuabs. • • " Whil:tt the tow n and i's" , onfortunate inhabitants were thus exposed to the deqtudive effects of .the bothbardn more terriblz:han any upon record, the tnerciLess Commandant took possession of th e vaults under the • Stadthouse, where be continued feasting, and unaffected by the havoc and lamenta tions that .surrounded him on all sides,,until that great pile becyme itself a victim to the - thanes, and threatened to bury the cause of its destruction under .the mass of its ruins. Wh e n driven from this hiding hole; he is repre- - sented by sorije cif his cy.vu Officers, as having passed from onto vault to another, until he reached th..t der his 6wn hous::, where he was, when the it:LI/Au :hie des; - 1161km, to which he had never before been exposed, compelled him to . tncJuditionill surrender. lie is justly . ail oljetn car extcratiott in • the town, 'which he has successively pillaged,.o i .pressed, and laid in ashes ; whilst the second in command, a .brave and generous soldier,' who fearlessly shared the dangers of the .bombardi.tent with his comrades and the inhabitants, is the objea of their conunon resped andesteenr. • , The Offensive stench which proceeded from . .the- half smothered flames, on the first en trance of the, British, .added considerably. to the afliteting impression - produced by the gight of so ranch bavock and human, misery. But the de solation is not confined to the town or the pre sent season. The.desperate measure of opening the Sluices, resorted -to by the French General, has laid a Considqable portion of the island unde'r water, and caused an extent of tnischiet, which it will he the work at least of three years to repair. Had lire in undation taken pbce some months sooner, it wouid not have been attended with the same serious con sequences ; but at this season, when the power of evaporation is so small, and the quantity of autum nal rains sn considerable, the mischief must be greatly aggrivizated before the interpo ? ition of a dry summer can arrest its progress. Ihe inundation was widely spreading, throughout the British lines ; and, if the Sluices had continued open but forty eight hours long , r, it -would have been impossible to have prosecuted the operations of the siege. The bombardment took place at tiie critical moment ; and the unparalleled gallantry with whici; tile•uattery was carried that connthincien the sluices, put an end to the danger, and ensured the conquest of the town. "The loss of the French by the bombardment Must have been iinmeteie ; but the time allowed be tween tiro kxrcution of the instrument of capitulation, and the a6lual surrender of the fortress to the British troops, enableti them to retrieve most of the e% l attices of its event. In one small hovel near the battery on the left of the town, above 300 of their dead repose together under a very superficial cover ing of stied. Any estimate of the :lumber of inhabi tants killed can yet be but conjectural, as the mutilated and undiStinguishable remains or many unfortunate vitlims are every hour taken out of the ruins, and instantly deposited in a shell for promiscuous inter ment. But of all descriptions of the inhabitants, the Burghers Suffered the most. On the morning atter the first bombardrnenr, ninety of that class, many of them of considerable respectability, were borne to their graves ; and the number of their dead could scarcely have been inferior on the second day. This extraordinary havoc amongst that particular class, arose from their having .been compelled previously to the siege, by General Alonnet, to torn) themselves into corps of city militia, for the ostensible _Purpose of maintaining the' police of the town, but with the , real design of putting them into a state for service against any British force that ought be employed against the. fortress. Accordingly, on .the first in vestment of the'to'wn, the corps of burghers had the ports st of honor assigned to t h em, on I he most exposed they of the; fortific a tio ns . I n this perilous' service we re compelled to rema i n d ur i ng t h e w h ole of the successirve bombardments, and this circumstance is owing to the great loss that ensued among them. At one time, when they could nu longer withstand the trernetedous foe from the British batteries and ships, the corps of- burghers attempted to retreat from the 'ramparts, but were met by the French with fixed bayonets, and, as may be welt sup- Med, relttaantly forced to face that danger they . sought to, avoid, in order 'to, escape the tnOre inevitable destruction by the hands of their oppres-- sors. Th u consequence was, that they suffered most g r ievously, whilst scarce a gun was discharged , ba s inst the British li nes or fl eet t h at was not po i nted Y )etch . hands. Of a corps o f b urg h er -cannottiers, °lls:'_siinit.of 22; two only escaped, all th e r est hay ttrg 'either killed, or dreadfolly wounded. From e atiine part they took in the defen ce o f t h e to wn, it was impossible that their condua could .be Passed over without some notice. -The Commander tut Chie f, therefore, as soon as the British troops were i " Pozisessiou of the town, ordered the corps of -Bur ghers out before him, with their arms and accoutre dents ; ; but, opon'its being proved, that they had b een fineibly obliged to assist in the defence of the town, lie directed that they, should lay down their arms, and did not think it necessary to notice any further their previous hostility. " Immediately upon the fall of Flushing, arrange ments were made for ethe distribution of the forces , t roplctyed in the lines - before that t own . • T he ob vious and alarming accumulation of the enemy's t 'oops en the opposite shore 'of -Cadsand, rendered ti tieCesiao ta teaire i much stronger garrieori 16 Flushing and the other fortresses of the bland, than would otherwise haVe been necessary. Bernadot!e himself was said to be in that'quarter at the. head of 11,01) , 1 men, with the avowed intention 0 attempt ing the re -conquest of Walcheren. . The French camp became visible, and was observed to be gra . dually increasing, from Flushing: Id such a state of things, and as it waS in contenaplation to secure the possession of Middleburgh, by planting aboVe one hundred pieces- of cannon upon its points of de fence, it was not at once that . all the arrangements could have bee n completer, as well for adjusting the strength and proportions of the different garrisons& as for expediting the march 'of the remainder of the troops from the lines to reinforce the main body of the army in South BeVeland. A delay of some day, coniequently succeeded; and it was not till the 20th, or 21st, that the last of the troops had been removed from the lines. Some of the most distinguished battalions have been left in Walcheren. The 36th, 77th, Colonel Cochrane's corps of detachments, and three companies of artillery, form the chief of . the garrison of Flushing, of which fortress Gen. Pion is Governor. The 84th, with the marines, garrison Camvere; the 26th are at Atnetneyda, and the 71st and 81 st form part of the garrison of Middleburg, of which General Sontag is Governor. The whole British force retained in the Island, including artil lery, cavalry, and other corps, the 23d and 63d; not already specified, is - estimated at nine or ten thousand men ; so that if, in the absence of the main body of the army, the French should make any attempt upon the bland, they -will not fail to I meet a warm reception and a brave resistance.— Bernadotte is represented as collecting some hun- i dreds of gqii-boots train Boulogne, &c. througit . the ta lal, a . lie interior, with a view-to some offensive operation. • . ' • The centineli are doubled every night; none of the -inhabitants are allowed on the . ramparts ; no vessel, even - British, is permitted to enter or leaVe .the harbour without a passport ; and the stt iciest re gulations are enforced with respect to the entrance or departure of all persons, not connected with the army' or the navy, 'at the gates of the town.: Gene-'. rd. Fraser was appointed Commander in Chief in the Island ; but as he is returned to England ill, Sir •E)re Come has gone .back from this place to take the command there, with an understanding, however, that if the further objects of the Expedi tion are to be prosecu►ed, that gallant Officer is still to go on us second iu command with the army." PRIVATE LETTER. FLU sir IN p, WEDNESDAY, • AUG. 21.---The ru mours afloat here are so various and contradictory, as to induce a person to doubt the most probable statement, though proceeding froth the best autho rity. Whether the main objeCt of the Exp e di t i on , viz. the seizure of the enemy's fleet, will be attempt ed or not, depends; as we here understand, upon the expected decision Of the Cabinet, The tran sports and ships of war have, however, proceeded up the West Scheldt, in order to be ready to disem bark the troops quickly, •if such - onerstions are de cided upon. In this garrison, from which I now write, alarm has already' given rise to some precau tions. Last night the picquets and sentries were doubled, and orders were given to the sentinels to direct a vigilant attention to the ships of war off' in the roadsted, and that if blue rockets were discharg ed from any of them, a communication was to be immediately made lo the Commanding Officer, Ge neral l'icton. The motive for issuing those orders was the apprehension of an attack from the enemy, who, to the number of 13,000 men, are positively said to be in Cadsand, under the, command of Ber nadotte, for the avowed object of recovering this Island. Within these few days three hundred gun boats have reached that place from Boulogne, through the canals; and I assure you, it is the decided con viction of some of the most intelligent inhabitants, that the attempt, even with all the probability of failure, will ceitainly be made, and that General Monnet (they say). gave them the assurance, and Bernadotte's military tame is committed by his Mainer upon the Issue. At all events, the brigade stationed here, consisting of the 36th, the 63d, and • 77th regiments, with the . lion. Colonel Cochrane's battalion of embodied detachments, are kept upon the•alert, which, together with the positions taken by our ships of war, afford - to us the most confident .hopes that the enemy may repent his temerity, not withstanding the opportunity which the damaged condition of the batteries of this fortress may, at this moment, present to them. At various times in the course of the morning, We have heard a strong cannonade in the dire6tion of Fort is sup posed to proceed from the enemy's batteries up the river, upon our gun-boats, which are . -stationed off its banks. 1)6 principal part of Sir John Hope's army still continues in most , coinfortable quarters in South Beveland. " The dtity'of this garrison is very severe, every regiment being obliged to fernish; ind e p en d ent, o f the necessary guards, pa r ti es .of )50 and 200 men, to dismantle the works, wh;ch were construaed for its bombardment. There is prevalent here a ru mour, that the works of Middleburgh are to be im mediately put in a state of defence, and that 100 additional- gins are-to be placed on the ramparts of Flushing. Such an intention indicates the deteymi. nation of making Walcheren a depot . , from which British manufaaures .may,utways find their way to the Continent. " Indeed I, this day, in inspeoing the stores in the arsenal, wittiesSed a strong illustra tion of what 'the . perseyeting spirit of trade effeet,, and of the difficulties which in its operation . it will certainly sub - Mount. There are now lying on the quay of Flushing too pieces of ordnance of Qat ron manufacture, - with the proper mar k s o f t hat foundery'upon them, so lately tnantifaaured as :the year 1808. Here is an evident proof that the inge nuity of gain laughs at all the efforts of French in .terdias. Within this hour this garri . vin received thd agreeable intelligence; . that . French property to a considerable amount has been'dikOvered at INfddle burgh: By the aaivity of theCotinnissioners; spe c ie to a large anjount has been found, and nearly` 200 tons of saltpetre. The stores here are very rich, the arsenal being now tilled with the most material.na val stores. I cannot conclude this letter without stating, that the enemy bore ample te*tiniony to - the' unparalleled ability with which our artillery was , eouduqt,ed during the bornbardmenti7 IfLustitz:G, AUG. 24.--With respeet )e movements of our troop, I can give you little or ni4 information. The transports are all gone tip the river (about 150 sail) yesterday and to-day. Ad miral Sir 11. Sttachan •and Lord Gardner are with their ships at Batz, and I can only say our troops are doing well. - Admiral Otway has hoisted his flag on board a man of war at Flushing, and it to remain there as a guard-ship." FROM THE MIDDLEBURGH COURziNT. MIDDLEBURGIT, AUG 23.—0 n the 21st inst. the following Proclamations were published:— PROCLAMATION. " His Excellency Lord Chatham, - cotnnianding the troops of his Britannic Majesty, being informed that many. deserters, and per Sons belonging to the Vrench troops, and sonic-of them armed, are on the island, orders, that - thz. before-mentioned armed or unarmed deserters, or, other persons, be arrested, and delivered over to the nearest English detach.; ment, and : that no one presume to harbottr such setters, on pain of being sentenced, on conviaion, to pay a penalty of tou one half of which shall be given to the it,former, whose name shall be kept secret, and be otherwise severely punished ac cording to military law. Military deserters, and other persons belonging to- the French artily, not surrenueriag within three days, shall be punished as spies." r PROCLAMATION. " His Excellency Lord Chatham,_ being. informed that many persons pass:from one island to another, without being furnished with the necessary pas;ports, orders,That no presume to repair from the island of which he is an inhabitant, to another island, without having obtained a passport from the Magistrate, which must be signed by the Genisal, or Commanding Officer, on pain of being arrested. • All Fertymen and Mariners are commanded to take no one over, unfurnished with a pass. The transgressor of this command shall not only suffer the loss of the boat, or vessel, but shall, according to circumstances, be punished according to.stilitary law," DUBLIN, A. 26. - 'Sunday the infant daughter of her Grace the • Duchess of RICHMOND was baptized at the Lodge, Phoenix-park, by the Rev. botior GRAVES, Chap lain to his Grace the Lord Lieutenant. As their Majesties are so gracious as to confer the honour of being sponsors, the child is named SOPHIA GEOR DIANA. The grand christening will take place some time hence by his Grace the Archbishop of Dublin. Her Grace the Duchess of RICII?,IOND paid a visit after Church to Viscountess POWER4COURT. Tuesday evening, between the hours of eight and nine o'clock, an industrious weaver returning from Balbriggan to Drogheda, was stopped near Black bush, by three armed v►llains, who dragged hiM off the horse he was riding, and robbed him of 2 guineas, his hat and coat, and then made a precipitate retreat. A man, supposed to be one, of these freebooters, was apprehended nett day. , On Sunday the Duke of CLARENCE gave a grand Entertainment at his house at Bushy Park, the brit, liancy of which far exceeded the Fete given on his Royal Highness's birth-day. The most splendid ar .rangtments were made on the occasion ; the lawn in front of the_ house afforded a beautiful and rich display Of the choicest plantS and shrubberies, ad mirably arrangedi. The fineness of the day gave lustre to the scene. The Duke of YORK'S band was stationed at the front entrance, and the Duke of KEN T ' S at th e south-east entrance , w h ere they play ed alternately several delightful airs. ' At five o'clock 'the Prince of WALES arrived ; he was received by the Duke of CLARENCE at the front door, the bands playing " G.A Save the KING." Shortly after, the Duke of YORK arrived, when the bands played his Royal Highness's march : the remainder of the Royal Dukes came in succession, and at six o'clock his Highness the Duke of BRUNSWICK OELS arrived, and was received by the PRINCE and all the Royal Dukes, at the front entrance, with the most polite attention. The dinner was superlative; sixty covers were laid in the principal dining-room ; the sideboards were richly ornamented with gold and silver, and at ball-past seven o'clock, the fare was served up on a superb service of plate. Upwards of forty sat down to table. The bands were stationed in the anti-chamber adjoining the dining. room, the tloors of which were tlirown open, and they per formed a number of delightful airs during the time of dinner. After the cloth was removed, the Duke of CLARENCE gave separately, the KING and QUEEN, which were drank with enthusiasm, the bands play ii g " God Save the KING." The PRINCE gave " Lord WELLINGTON and his brave Army," which was drank with loud plaudits. Many other loyal and patriotic. toasts were given, the cheerful glass went round with hilarity, and the company did not break up until _three o'clock in the morning. The . Duke of CLARENCE looked extremely well, and ne ver appeared in greater spirits ; the PRINCE seemed .bighly pleased, and was very facetious. Among the company were the Earls BREADALBANE and BARRYNIGRE ; Lords HEATHFIELD, ERSKINE, and CRANLEY; Generals CALVERT, GARTH, and CART WRIGHT • Admirals HOTHASS and - BowATER ; Cu- Jonels LEE: and riIdACNASIARA Messrs. ADAMS, ;FE rt R ET, &C. The pedigree•of Captain BARtLAY has - recently bee .given in the. public prints, as If his pedestrian achievernent were worthy of being ranked among the most alemgrable transaalionsot the present day. The satirical Poet says of one who valued himself on the antiquity of his family-- • " He stands for fameon hisforefgrherefeer, 4 . 1 By tera/dAy proved valiant atid discreet." Captain.B AticnAY , h owever , seems resolved to ac. quire an original fame, not by resting on the merits - of his ancestors, but by moving his own feet in " the paths of glory." Horncastle Fair, the •greatest horse fair in Eng land, was held last week, and very numerously at ' tended. There was a large,show of good horses, but few buyets;.and the price hOrieS fell fronao to 30 per cent. PbitAk. BENCH. ORi UNk I'll ivoiship thee rip inortie, For thou hast proir'd a wayvilard To disiipate my goodly store; And then to bring nib to flit Belich. fret will I not tOl3WcestOs fly; And in his howl my senses drench, treason Shall fortitude Supply To arm Me; thcitigh I'm in the Bentli. The WOrld - '$ a /idiot', is 'HS Said We're free when in an earthy trelach, And fate in titne will yield her aid, And kindly take the from the Beneh. Then live , ye proud, in pottip and state; And feat on ven'tOn; turtle; tenth; I; calmly trusting bounteous fate, , Am happier, though I'm in the Beech: A BENClIkii; tlienborOugli Lodge, Aug. 28, 184. . , THE THRATRE.—Lis inght•a new Cothie Opera Was represented at.the LYCEUM, under the title of Safe and Sound. The scene lie 4 in Paissia. The fable arises from a ddel between two young men, Albert and Lindo , , who had previonSly been inti- mate friends. "Albert was supposed to have been Mortally wounded, and Lindor absconds; not merely in consequence of the dangerouS State of his ant,ago-• nist, but because the laws of Paissia are very severe against duelling. In order to avoid the officer's who were in, pursuit of him, he seeks refugt in a park belonging to a Baron, who is the father of his aura, gonist : he does not, however, know Iry whom he is protected, nor dots the Barbn at first kno v that hg is giving shelter to the wait who had wounded hi 4 son, but when he does, he conceives himsell'hound in honour to continue his protection..-.—Alb ert , whose wound was not so dangerous as was supposed, flies to his father's house for safety against the offs- -cers of justice, and acknowledges that be had been .• wrong in his quarrel with Lindor. During the time that the tatter had been under 'he protection of the Baron, he fails in love with Annette, the Baron's daughter. At length the of arrive, and. are about to seize the two combatants, when a pardon signed by the King relieveS them from all danger and the piece concludes with the intended marriage at Lindor and Annette, and Albert and Roth, a Lady to whom be had long been attached. This Drama is the produ&ion of Mr. THEObtiRE Hootc, and is by no means destitute of interest, though it is not what might be expe&ed from the author of Tekeli. The piece is not recommended by any striking novelty in fable or character, nor is it in the lighter scenes animated by any brilliancy of dialogue, but it takes hold of the feelings'in some parts, and is whimsical and amusing in others. By omitting some passages and envigorating others, it may become popular, particularly as it' is well sup ported by the performers. DOVTUN is a powerful prop, and PHILLIPS gives it a strong vocal support. Mrs.MOUNTAIN, as a 3inger and an actress, acquitted herself ably. Mrs. ORGER, who is an unatfetted spirited actress, was also a powerful supporter Of the piece. Hontt, OXBERRY, Mrs; BISHOP, and Miss E. BOLTON, exerted themselves with zeal.— The house was well attended, .and the audience in general seemed very well disposed towards the piece, which, however, was strongly opposed by a few turbulent spirits. When DowroN, however, an— nounced it for this evening, the general voice was decidedly in its favour. The overture, and the music altogether, is very creditable to the veteran Hon. It has been-said that the introduction of CATALAN' in a new Opera, will be overthrowing an old and es tablished precedent, as TRNDUCCI and MARA first appeared on the Engli,h Stage in th - e Opera ot .dr taxerxes. But the tact is, that the Opera of Ar.'a xerxes and TENDUCCI came first on the English Stage together, so that the precedent 'does not apply, so far as that performer is concerned. The design 'and the execution of the subjects which appear in Basso-relieve on the East front of the New Theatre, in Covent.:Garden, are highly creditable to the two artists who were etnployed on them, FLAXMAN and Rossi; hut it is to be regretted that the figures'in the Compartment allotted to the modern drama, are by no means so prominent as these intended to represent . the ancient drama.— The figures on both are well disposed, and she artists have shewn a laudable spirit of emulation.— These figures appear to the spedator to be about two feet in height, but; we understand, that they are adually five. How far it was proper to repre sent any thing symbolical of the ancient Drama On a Theatre that ought to be entirely national, the nicer Critics will determine ; but it may be urged in favour of this introduaion, that a. pure taste is dependent of time and place, and consequently that the subjects over which it presides are appropriate toall periods, in a State adorned by the fine arts.. -• Besides, the edifice itself is formed on those princi ples, and founded on those models which have al ways been deemed the best characteristics of • arclti tectural. excellence, and therefore it is proper to oh-. serve a uniformity in its decorations. The figures of TRAGEDY and COMEDY which are placed in the Bast point of the new Theatre, in Coven t= Garden, were opened. for public inspeaion on .Sat ur day last. - .The first .is the work of Rossi, and the other of *FLAXMAN. They do great credit to both- Artists. A&ording to . ordinary conception, there is not suf fi cient discrimination b e t ween t h e two figures, and 'indeed it is thought that they might -both be taken for representatives of the Tragic Muse. But the figure of Comedy is founded upon the severe taste of Antiquity, and as its objeal is to correct as well as please, his marked by dignified tranquility more than by the smirking graces' which might be suppoSed to charatlerise Farce, rather than legitimate Comedy. Nei are the violent energies of Tragedy expressed in herfigure. A solemn grave and Looks commerciog with the skies," givean impressive Majesty to her appearance, The statue.of Comedy exhibits it milder dignity, and is most beautifully simple, elegant, and intereving., The Transport Board "has appointed Capt, NEW, N. Regulating Officer at Swansea, their res,ient agent for the Welch chstrid.